The human cost of surging US air strikes in Somalia

Mogadishu, Somalia – Nearly a year after a suspected US strike in southern Somalia left shrapnel embedded in her son’s body, Maryam Haji Abdi Guled still feels compelled to accompany him to school.She fears another child might push him while playing, disturbing a fragment of metal lodged near his hip. Doctors have warned that removing it could leave him paralysed.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Somalia won’t accept Israeli presence ‘under any circumstances’: Presidentlist 2 of 3Four African leaders issue joint declaration as Ethiopia war escalateslist 3 of 3Labour fends off the Green party in closely watched UK by-electionend of list“I hold his hand, take him to school, and I bring him back myself. I watch over him,” she told Al Jazeera.Her son, Abdiqadir Salah, was seven when he was injured during a November 2025 military offensive involving United States air strikes and Somali ground forces around Jamaame, in Somalia’s southern Jubaland state.Maryam is among several survivors interviewed by Al Jazeera in recent months who say family members were killed or seriously injured during the offensive. Their accounts describe deaths, displacement, lost livelihoods and injur...